Automated Transcript
10 Best Folders for First-Time Knife Owners
The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 339)

00:00
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
The place for blade lovers to learn about knives and hear from the makers, manufacturers and reviewers that make the knife world go round.
Bob DeMarco and coming up a new looker from Urban EDC and JRP knives, the Kaiser Begleiter XL joins the collection and 10 great folders for first timers.
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
Your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting.
Here's your hosts, Bob the knife junkie, DeMarco.
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.

00:38
It's good to have you back on the midweek supplemental, my favorite comment from this past week was from our good friend JC from the Knives Fast Channel and of course Tempest Knives.
By the way, the pinion is fully funded so mine will be on the way at some point.
He says this was on last week's Dan Eastland of Dogwood Knives interview.
He said well after watching this, I wish I'd gone by dance table at Blade show.
Seems like a fascinating and really cool guy.
This is one of my favorite podcasts.
You've done.

01:07
Love the perspective that he comes at his knives with.
Thanks for the content, Bob, says Casey.
A couple of things here.
First of all, he says I love the perspective.
And by the way Dan Eastland is also host of our co-host of Knife Perspective podcast.
So kind of interesting choice of words Casey used there.
But I also love this comment reflects kind of the main mission of this show.

01:28
I, as as as I discover makers and people that I really like and think you all would like I. It's my pleasure to expose you to different people and to and to learn about them.
As I'm learning about them.
So mission accomplished there, so I really appreciate the comment Casey and I appreciate all of your comments.
OK, so let's do a pocket check for this week and for the day today, I'm still on my automatic knives high, you know, it's it's still fresh.
Fresh.
It still feels fresh that I can carry this around.
I still have a bunch of other automatics I'd like to get, but the inaugural legal automatic in my collection, the hair, the heretic, Manticore, Excel, and as I have this one when I first got this, I was a little put off.

02:18
By the rattle, but in carrying the rest of my automatics.
Most out the fronts have it I I do not have a a G&G hawk.
So all of my out the fronts have rattle.
And I've I've gotten used to it.
It is somewhat, you know, somewhat loud.
Because this is a somewhat large knife.
But, you know, I've I've gotten over that because really, I'm not doing too much knife fighting with this.

02:43
And if I were the sound it was making a SI wing this through, the air would be the last of my concerns.
So.
I really got this for the blade.
I am a sucker for a recurve and this reminds me a little bit of a Walter Brend fixed blade.
And well until I can afford a Walter Brend fixed blade.
This will have to do but I love the actuation, feels it feels really good.
It comes out easy.

03:07
I know that that slider is on ball bearings, they do something a little bit different I think than than Father company micro tech.
Not that it's actually the father company, but Anthony Marfione junior I believe started heretic.
And hit with, I think with his father.
You know what there was a bit of friction there, but I think now they're all good.
I don't know.
I don't know.
There's a bit of knife drama there and it's it's hard to get to.

03:31
I would like to have the Murphy ones on the show, but it's hard to get to them anyway, so that's the Manticore X. It's been a pleasure to carry.
By the way, it's got a great glass breaker because it is there.
It is present in the form of a little ball ball bearing of some sort.
I'm not sure what material it is, but you can cap it with your thumb really easily.
It feels fine, it does not.
Or poke at all, so very nice set-up there with the glass breaker.
OK, Next up today's Kerry.

04:03
I had my 71 sodbuster from Great Eastern cutlery and this is a knife.
I have not carried in quite a while but with the announcement of the new GEC Sud Buster.
Yes, that's right.
It's a. It's a two layer sodbuster with a cap lifter in there and I'd love to have it.
But you know what I'm I'm not really into collecting GEC that much anymore.
I mean not that I've stopped.
Officially, but you know, I just missed drops and I'm not.

04:33
I'm not sitting there hitting refresh and and I have been out of the slip joint phase for a long time.
Actually, Ben and Ben, Belkin and Jack Wolf Knives have has brought me headlong back into slip joints and this is one of my favorites.
It's so light and I I don't think I would like the sub Buster as much.
This is already a chunky knife.
This is like this is more than 1/2 inch thick.
This already a chunky knife feels very good in hand.
It's light.

05:00
Because of the micarta but another layer and another spring in there, I just feel like you know, for my practical purposes it would be a little bit too much, but have the the little leather fob on there meaning it's mine forever.
And of course a nice patina on there.
I come in and out of patinas on my GEC's I will I'll put them on.
Usually through I'll use them at meal time.
I love cutting meat with them because meat gives them great patinas and then eventually I'll I'll get sick of it and I'll Polish it off.
Lastly, today for emotional support, I had the concept pretty not pretty to the concept.
Pelican by K Max ROM French designer who many of his knives had that signature thumb.

05:46
Swale with the double peaks on the spine.
That is what drew me into his custom knives on Instagram.
Years back and then he started.
He started doing these licensed designs with the.
First with Kaiser and then with concept.
Love his designs and man, I am such a huge fan of concept knives.
Gotta say and I've been loving Kaiser the past year also, but for me really I've been getting the biggest kick out of the Vanguard series.

06:14
I like the sort of less premium, less like not titanium, the.
The more micarta stuff you know what I'm saying, the micarta and N 690 or 14 C kind of kind of kaisers.
Great action, great designs, light you know, great for fidget, great for cut, cutting, cut.
Great for cut a little caveman there came out, but.
Just awesome knives I I've I had a whole bunch of kaisers, and from their premium line when they sort of first came out with the great the Matt Cucchiara the the Big Matt Cucchiara titanium knives.
Man I wish I didn't get rid of those big hollow ground recurve.
I can't remember.

06:58
It was called the Big Dog or something.
Big Hollow ground recurve Bowie blade over 4 inches on bearings contour titanium.
Beautiful stuff.
I got rid of all of that in pursuit of other knives and have been slowly getting back into Kaiser with their recent offerings.
You'll see more of it today so that's what I was carrying in backwards order.
The emotional support night for the day was the concept Pelican awesome little knife.
This also comes in a sheep's foot stylized, of course, had the GEC 71 look for the sub Buster coming to a knife purveyor near you and the Manticore.

07:38
And by the way, I like this bent clip.
It's a lot less committal than some of the others.
The others are very sculptural and with ball bearings and all that, and that's not my thing.
I like just a simple bent clip most of the time.
OK, so coming up on the Knife Junkie podcast.
We're going to take a look at a new knife from urban EDC.
They always have really cool collaboration knives.

08:00
I have yet to get one, but I I need to.
I need to figure that out.
We'll take a look at the last Suvi of July.
We've seen a few.
Reviews on this now and then.
We'll take a look at this.
My state of the collection.

08:15
And then of course, 10 best knives that you can get as a gift to a 100% newbie coming up right here.
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On a new knife shop at the knife junkie.com/knives.
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You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast.

08:55
And now.
Here's the knife junkie with the knife life news.
Urban EDC, known for their awesome collaboration knives with custom makers and designers, have a new one out with Jared Price of JRPG Knives.
I've been following him for a long time on Instagram.
I like JRP knives and this this new one called the the micro is it micro or mini strike.
I'm sorry I got a I got to look up my yeah the micro strike it's not so micro it's just sub three inches in blade length but this this new one out man.
Is it beautiful?

09:31
Thank I'm.
I'm very grateful that it's a you know, below my wheelhouse size.
Because this.
That that that style clip point blade with that beautiful swedge and it's hollow ground.
I find it really beautiful and if it were a full size knife this this coming in at 2.86 I believe if it were full size I would.
I would be so tempted and the urban EDC knives are exclusive.
They don't make many of them, they're high end and they're with designers, so they're not inexpensive and I would.

10:05
I would.
I would be moved to buy this.
I find that blade.
They're so compelling, I it reminds me a bit of I'm going back here.
The combative edge SR1SR1 no no.
That first combative edge knife I have it in my I should have pulled it out minus the recurve.
That whole setup with the with the short clip and the long swedge very reminiscent of that knife but a beautiful handle looks quite neutral.

10:35
Comes in two flavors of Micarta and then of course contoured titanium and coming soon go check out Urban EDC supply.
Very very cool knife man.
And while you're there, also check out the Nessie.
That's another cool one.
Reminds me a bit of a knife.
We're gonna take a look at in a minute in the state of the collection.
You'll know which one I'm talking about when we get to it.

10:56
OK, Next up this sitos from Sevi is now out and it was the last.
What a release of July and we got a chance to take a look at it through a number of different reviews online and reviews are a little mixed and and I'm not surprised and the reason is, I think that steel lockbar some people have trouble getting around the fact that it's got.
It's a steel frame lock, but I I think we have to get this one to check out here.
I've had a number of steel lock bars come through here.
I had the Boker Lateralus.
Another man, every knife I I bring up that I've traded.
Are sold I regret but another knife.

11:37
I wish I still had a very light.
And very smooth frame lock flipper of titanium from Boker, not titanium.
I'm sorry of steel and it was so nicely milled and hollowed out.
It felt like titanium so I I want to see how this how this sea toast does, but I just thought I wanted to remain this.
We brought this up last week and I just wanted to mention that now that it's out there are a number of of reviews out there.
People have snatched it up.
I think that the general consensus is people love the look of it and people like the blade, but it's close enough to a number of other.

12:11
Other knives and, and that's a good excuse not to go for the steel lockbar I. That's just the feeling I get but we shall see.
I think this this demands this demands investigation from the Knife Junkie podcast, so I think we'll we'll be getting this one in to take a look all right still to come on.
The Knife Junkie podcast.
Let's take a look at three new knives in my collection and 10 folders great as gifts for first time knife owners.
And now that we're caught up with knife life news, let's hear more of the Knife Junkie podcast.
So I was talking about my concept Pelican before and how much I like the brand and how I've noticed my little sub collection has begun to swell and by that I mean I think I have now 5 concepts and.
You know, we'll see.

13:02
Maybe that means I'm going all in, I just I really like the builds of them.
I love the designs and they're addictive in their action and and usage.
Great blade geometry on these.
Also, I'm finding they're very useful aside from just being, you know, very appealing and compelling.
OK, so here we have natural tan canvas micarta.
This is the bulldozer and this is the bulldozer D2 version so that this is the high value version.
And then there is a titanium version.

13:33
Titanium is a frame lock with contoured handle scales and you can get it in a number of different, very high end versions.
But this D2 version is all I need.
I I had seen this on a number of different channels and saw this on Blade HQ in a number of places lurking around and I just I I. I just felt like I had to get this.
It reminds me a little bit of a doublade and it's got that long neutral handle.
It it it it?
It took me a little bit to the place where the send cut Bronte takes me and I just had to have it.
Also front flipper I am getting more and more into front flippers.

14:12
And I feel like either I, I think two things can be true at once.
I think I'm getting more comfortable actuating a a wide range of different types in different ways, like I'm getting better at this four finger style, but definitely not with my left hand.
So not only am I getting better at at using them and more comfortable with with a wide range of of designs of front flipper, but I feel like manufacturers and designers are getting a better hang of it, so that's a great thing to be happening all at once.
This D2 blade is fully flat ground that's about an inch and an 8 inch and a quarter maybe at the at the widest inch and A and.
330 seconds at the widest and fully flat ground, it comes to a thin edge.
It's very this is a great work knife.
You say, yeah, but I I don't see any marks on it.

15:06
I have.
I have actually not cut anything but paper with this so.
That is the that is the caveat.
Now that being said, this and two other knives in the state of the collection, which you'll be seeing in a minute are going to be running the paces by weekend because.
We're having two bathrooms redone and we had to get some medicine cabinets and some some ancillary stuff from IKEA.
Yes, yes, every time I mention it.
I I hear from Jim, he's like do you guys go there like every weekend?

15:39
And no, it it seems like we do because I think I complain about it a lot or mention it a lot because so much cardboard comes from that place and what a great opportunity to test out new knives.
So this one is going to go.
This one is going to be tested on a bunch of cardboard this coming weekend and I think it's going to do great.
I think that handle is so nicely neutral and my car though.
My Carta is very very.
Comfortable, I just feel like this thing is gonna go all day long through cardboard and that this blade is gonna do really nicely.
And I've I've seen test footage on other people's videos and.

16:17
If there's no camera trickery involved, I have no doubt this is going to be awesome, so I look forward to using this one.
And the patina on the my card is already is already starting to happen.
You can see that around the clip and I I like it.
What can I say I just I love my card.
I'm on my card, a nerd Speaking of my card, a nerd Next up is also in my card and this is the new White Mountain Knives exclusive Begleiter XL with the red.
My card OK so they came out with the first run of these at the beginning of the year and they were in.
Canvas 10 canvas micarta.

16:55
Very similar to this.
And they sold like hotcakes and.
I I sat on it and but I got a loaner from Dave and really liked it and then wanted to buy one and they were all gone.
So waited around knowing they'd come back because people just went bonkers for these and I saw that they had them in red linen micarta.
I love linen micarta because of that the fine fibers and the tight weave feels really good in hand.
But they also came out with the the canvas tan and then white I think, and black G10 a couple of different models of this.
But that's a four inch blade.

17:37
That's what is this 14. I'm sorry 154 CM.
I couldn't remember what the blade Steel was 14. I mean 154 CM beautiful blade shape.
I love that almost despair point.
Just a beautiful blade shape with that swedge.
Actually when I looked at it initially I thought oh that's rather vanilla but looks useful now that I have it.
And it's a very beautiful blade.
I think it's just a beautiful and simple shape and I think they did it just perfectly.

18:08
It's got all the right.
Proportions visually, but cutting this thing is wicked and I love 154. I know I talk about it a lot.
It's a it's a simple man steal.
It's a working man steel.
I don't need much.
You know what I mean?
To cut that thread off my collar.

18:26
But I love 154 and it sharpens easily and it makes me feel like a good sharpener and that's that's good for my my ego.
So I I go with that.
But this button lock is super smooth.
There's a little bit of.
Button lock stick, which is also present on my cogent from Seva.
These are my only two button locks at the moment besides automatics which I'm not counting here.
Umm?

18:53
Just great addictive action.
It's on bearings, nice size I I love this.
This is a really good big knife.
If you are a folder guy or gal and you have smaller knives and you want a larger, you know a knife in the four inch range like this.
I I think this is a really good one.
It's it's nicely lightened.
If you look at those steel liners, it's nicely lightened, but it has a nice heft to it.

19:21
It's not heavy, but it feels very solid.
But it's also got that really nice action because the length of the blade adds a little bit of weight, and that weight adds, you know, momentum.
Not a physicist.
But but it it, it does give a better action to that knife, and I highly recommend it.
Go to White Mountain knives and check it out.
Yeah, do it now.
Do it today.

19:48
Ohh actually we have a White Mountain knives.
Discount code sorry Jim, I should have mentioned that it and it's junkie, so just use junkie and you get 10% off.
I I have forgotten about that and frankly I gotta push that.
I gotta start getting more stuff from White Mountain knives.
They have such a great selection and it's a cool little operation.
And why am I not pushing it?
I'm saying it out here publicly.

20:11
That means I got to do it all right Next up in the state of the collection.
This one was sent to me by the company and I'm glad they did.
They've sent me two other knives in the past and I absolutely love them.
One of them was the Bellamy, the folder with M390 and carbon fibre for a mirror like 135 or something like that.
A great great folder, one of one of the best I've gotten this year and then they also sent me the Morgan 8 inch Chef's knife, which is my wife's favorite knife now and probably my that's my go to now too.
It's so much thinner than my Trident for instance, which is a a great knife, but.
Yeah, anyway, so this one is the nightshade and this is their new version of it.

20:58
They first came out with the nightshade in had like brass bolsters and micarta and I think M390 Blade Steel.
This is 154 CM and contour G10 and I think this is made by Kaiser.
I think I think I think pretty sure in my research I have come down to the fact that this is made by Kaiser and it feels like a. What do you call it a vanguard line knife?
Yes, you can quote me on that and then if I'm wrong I'll do a retraction.
I love this knife I. I thought when I first saw it on on YouTube I thought wow man, that's that's bold.
You know that's a that's that's an interesting design choice.
I wonder how that's going to go over.

21:44
I love it.
I love a downward angled blade like that and I love that barong shaped blade.
This to me is like a barong.
The barong is this sword hanging on the wall right here.
It's a big fat leaf shaped blade.
Looks just kind of like this and and though barongs usually have a straight angle off of the handle, the curvature of the blade gives it that recurve.
That sort of downward cookery feel A&B.

22:13
Most Filipino style knives and swords of of which there are many, many, many have that downward angle.
It just accelerates the cut and it also means that on a thrust you don't have to count your wrist as far down to get the point where you want it to be.
Sort of like a pistol grip, so anyway, that's what this is.
This is not meant to be a self-defense knife.
This is meant to be an EDC, and it's an awesome EDC knife.
But I I also I I I submit this would make an outstanding self-defense knife because you've got you've got an accelerated slash without anything.
Look at the angle down.

22:49
It's like a little cookery, but the point is right where you can, you can flip your hand and anyway you flip your hand your point is going right down the center because of the.
Angle of your wrist, your your wrist does not.
Your hand does not come straight off your forearm.
There's an angle there because you have a wrist and A and a hand and all that.
Anyway, I think you get the point and and all of that.
Of course I'm approaching it from that.
While it looks like a great weapon thing, just because that's where my imagination goes, but in terms of I was talking about the boxes you can see I've already put this to use this glides through material, not only because of that downward angle and that extreme belly, and that super thin cutting

23:31
geometry, because this is a thin blade steel and a wide, fully flat ground blade, but because of the.
The 154 CM just keeps going and going.
I yeah I did quite a few.
I did all the boxes yesterday in this and by all the boxes I mean the got Morgan.
We got two got Morgans that that's a that's a medicine cabinet and then we got some mirror called the I don't remember something Swedish and this this took care of all of those opening them and and sectioning them and then the test will be with this and the bulldozer just cutting them down.
So I can get them in the recycling.
I thank you Bastid and Corinne.

24:15
She's awesome.
She got in touch with me to see if I wanted to check this out.
I was like Oh yeah, I mean right up my alley and.
Oh, crowned spine great jimping cool kind of proprietary pivot.
Looks a little different.
Outstanding action.
Something that Nieve points out a lot is how early the detent ball is when you're closing it.

24:42
And this is a very early detent ball, meaning you don't have to.
It doesn't have to come all the way down to where it meets the detent ball and then pop over the ball to close.
It's it's happening really early by the time you know, if you just drop it onto your thumb, it's already.
Dropping in there, you got a deep carry pocket clip with recessed screws.
That should be the standard now I think everyone's working towards that.
I think everyone's kind of well selling through their old stock and will be will be doing that in the future.
I think just because everyone's complaining about it when it's when the screws aren't recessed.

25:17
Look at that angle.
What a great.
What a great knife this is I I do dig this and I I showed it to both my wife and my older daughter Eden and they both hated it.
Eden actually neither of them liked the blade.
Shape and they both took exception to the the angle.
And I said girls, you don't know what you're talking about girls this is that angles on purpose girls and and that leaf shaped blade.
It's it's ****** girls and they they still didn't go for it.

25:45
So it's all mine.
I don't have to worry about them taking it and a couple of here that we're going to look at have been summarily stolen from me by my wife because they're they're small, charming and cute.
And and I want them back.
But I have them back right now just for the purpose here, so we're going to get to that right now.
Do you ever you ever look for a knife for someone like not too long ago I I started managing one person at work and got that person a knife because there was an occasion when we were on a shoot and he didn't have a knife and he needed one and then he didn't know how to close it which I was like.
Come on man, it's just look at it.
Look at it but anyway so I got him a Swiss army knife but I posited the question to the Thursday night Knives.

26:34
Through what should I get for this person?
I heard a lot of different things and we're gonna talk about one one of the one of the most.
Popular things that someone said was in this list, so we're gonna get to that in a quick second.
So let's let's take a look.
Shall we visit the knife junkie at the knife junkie.com to catch all of our podcast episodes, videos, photos and more all right?
Well, the first of the 10 best folders to buy a first time knife owner might be a surprise.
I don't talk about this knife much on this show, but it's the classic and venerable Buck 110. I also have the 112 here for size.

27:15
If it's a person likes.
Something smaller, but this is the knife you get for that person that you think might equate weight and solidity for quality.
I don't know if you've ever handed a heavy knife to A to a noob or someone who's I shouldn't use that term.
I am not in my 20s.
You ever hand a knife to someone who doesn't know much about knives and they're like, oh heavy, you know?
Oh, that's that feels solid.
That feels that feels like a good knife.

27:42
This knife would take care of that person because it is a good knife, but also it is a boat anchor.
That's why it comes with great leather sheath.
So does the 112 Ranger.
It comes with a great leather pocket pouch that you can put on your belt.
So these are great knives for people who live that who live a lifestyle that they can walk around with.
A with a knife pouch.
Now I I say that because I live in suburbia right outside of, you know, DC and you don't.

28:12
Me too many people walking around with knife pouches, but as soon as you leave the coast or you go, you know anywhere outside of areas like this you see a lot of that.
You see leatherman's on on belts and you see Buck one 10s maybe maybe less than you used to, but.
This is great for that it's a classic.
It's very sharp hollow ground for it.
420 stainless steel, but it's with that heat treat that they do the really well so therefore 20 is like you know it.
It's a great steal and it has serviced people for years and years and years.
But if that's not your bag, just know that buck a Buck 110 can be had in many many many many flavors.

28:59
This is just the the bottom floor, the the the ground floor of Buck 110 and Buck 112 and when I got this this was 40 bucks at Walmart.
This is now 60 bucks.
Just looking it up and doing some research and the 112 which is a shorter version of the same knife and man this is a very comfortable knife.
I have a little quick quick stud on there.
Very comfortable knife very heavy.
These things are are definitely anchors but but great for that person who might equate.
Weight with quality.

29:32
Also, who doesn't love a beautiful sharp hollow ground blade?
So that is a good one.
OK next one is an actual first knife for an actual first time locking folder owner.
My daughter and this is what I got her.
The gonzo firebird.
This is the FH 11 for 22 bucks FH 11 that's D2 blade steel.
That's actual.

29:59
Actually I think that's carbon fiber ply on G10, but for 22 bucks who does care?
Very nice cutting blade, great jimping, great flipping action.
This is really good for, I mean.
Eden has been playing with knives for a while.
She's pretty comfortable with it and this is a good one for her.
It's a I actually gave it to her.
I felt like maybe it was a little large.

30:26
I could have gotten maybe something a little smaller, but she's gotten good with flipping this but but the the thing I like about this is it's a you get all of the luxury of a high end knife with the with the caged bearings and the and the awesome action and the carbon fiber.
At least in look and the Nice.
Satin blade and the whole experience loop over pocket clip, but you get it for 22 bucks.
It's very very low commitment and if you're getting the knife for someone, you're not sure if they're going to carry or use, but you want to get them something that looks nice and is, you know, pretty a nice build.
These Firebirds are good these.
These Gonzo Firebirds are good now.
I don't think Gonzo anymore.

31:10
Uh I. I'm not sure I I shouldn't.
I shouldn't speak on this, but I I do take exception to companies like Effin grow who who just blatantly rip off.
Do you know blatant ripoffs of other knives?
They don't put the other knives branding on it.
They're not clones, I guess technically, but you know, they look exactly like the micro tech they're supposed to they're copying or whatever.
I don't like those companies.
I know Gonzo used to do that a bit.

31:33
I don't know if they do anymore, but Firebird seems to be their own independent line.
And yeah, good good stuff coming out of there if you know if if if it's ethical for you all, right?
So that's Gonzo and Firebird Next up.
I have two options.
They're both great and interesting, and they're and they're both from high end designers, but they're very inexpensive, and they're from CRKT.
That's a great thing about CRKT.
You're going to get inexpensive versions of high end designer knives, and this one is the CEO from Richard Rogers.

32:10
I'm going in reverse order, CEO from Richard Rogers.
He's been on the show before a great guy and make designing some really amazing.
Knives that people you know much in demand, and this is the CEO.
And as you can see it is nice and thin and set-up to be like to look somewhat like a pen in the pocket.
So this is meant to be carried or you know can be carried on the inside pocket of your of your blazer or even in your breast pocket of your shirt if you're if you're up for that.
I don't really like too many things in my pocket.
I don't like feeling my shirt sag down, so.

32:51
But the inside pocket of a blazer would be perfect in slack pants.
It's very thin and very light and slacks pants.
It'd be excellent, great action.
You can even reverse flick it that that blade on this version is.
UH-8 CR.
But this also can be had in D2 and other steels.
It's three and a quarter, and then this is GRN.

33:18
Again, you can get this as exclusive as exclusives from some purveyors.
With I've seen it with brass on the end there.
And by the way that reminds me of a doctor's knife a little bit, but brass on the end with my Carta.
So really nice knife.
You can get this for someone who works in an office and and might like knives, but it's it's very unthreatening.
And it has a unique look.
This is not the kind of knife that most people have seen before.

33:46
So slender, but long and kind of like a fruit knife too.
Alright, so we're going to or not a fruit knife.
A melon tester.
That's what I was getting at melon tester.
We'll leave that there for the CRKT other kind of in the opposite direction a little bit more of a bulbous design.
Is that beautiful look from.
Just for boxing news, this is the Pete also in GRN handle scales.

34:12
Also very inexpensive.
$33 for this.
You get the beautiful box styling of very purposeful and well done drop point.
Nearly fully flat ground a CR 13. MOV blade.
And no, it's not a premium blade steel, but it is 100% adequate, especially for a noob.
I'm going to stop saying that, especially for.
For a new knife owner and someone who's just starting to carry pocket knives, this is great.

34:41
It's got a classy design, very low, very low commitment.
If you lose this, it's 33 bucks.
And of course no one likes to lose even a $33 knife.
But if you lose it, it's not the absolute end of the world.
Got a nice anodized blue backspacer there?
This was a gift to me from Christine of women carry knives.
I commented on her video about how I thought this was a charming little knife and she sent it to me.

35:08
I thought that was very nice.
Thank you, Christine.
Deep carry pocket clip recessed screws the whole 9 yards.
Sort of the opposite, spiritual opposite.
Of the CEO, but both would be totally acceptable in pretty much any work or social situation.
So great for a new first time owner.
OK, this next knife is the knife that I would say was the overwhelming.

35:35
Crowd choice when I when I placed this question to the Thursday Night Knives crowd.
Said I'm working with a new guy.
I want to get him a knife.
What should I get?
I did end up getting him a Super Tinker from Swiss army from Victorinox.
I just thought it was more his speed but I got this more than anything else.
The QSP Penguin.

35:59
Another knife, now that is very very very popular and comes in a million different colors or different different flavours.
I should say this one is in that really cool denim micarta but it comes in other my cartas and G 10s and this is in D2.
Blade Steel comes in other steels.
You can get premium versions right now from traditionalpocketknives.com.
They did those really cool jigged titanium frame locks with M390.
I mean people are just going nuts.
With this knife you can see a little bit of patina around the knife clip around the clip.

36:33
You can see the patina is growing on this.
This one's getting a lot of use.
This one was the knife.
My wife was using during the.
IKEA builds and she loved it.
I said, you know.
Afterward I. She asked for a knife because, well, we're having our bathrooms redone and all of her knives are under a tarp on her dresser.

36:54
Blah blah blah.
So I just gave her this and I gave her this on purpose.
I wanted to see what she thought of it.
She loved it.
She didn't say anything about it, but I said later, what did you think of the of the knife?
Oh, I loved it.
It's perfect for her hand.

37:08
She's petite, perfect for her hand, and that Warren Cliff blade, or that Sheepsfoot blade just just made quick work of of the big fat cardboard boxes she was opening so very very cool.
I love this thing.
It is definitely grown on me when I got it.
It was kind of gritty and stiff, but it's it's become nearly drop shut and I love washer action.
I love washer knives.
I think I think maybe we've gone a little too crazy with the ball bearings.
Maybe we've spoiled ourselves a little bit.

37:44
Maybe we should go back to a little bit more of this smooth washer action.
This is like smooth like.
Frank Sinatra smooth the washer is Frank Sinatra smooth and and and ball bearings are like.
Timothy Shamoly smooth I. I know they're they're different genres and everything, but I'm just thinking of of guys that my daughters crush on and he's so pretty, you know, and that's kind of like, that's kind of like the the ball bearing action.
It's so pretty, it's so, so lovely and cultivated, but to me sometimes sometimes I go for this kind of this kind of action.
So what will it be anyway?
QSP Penguin, awesome knife.

38:28
I would definitely.
If you're going to get a locking folder for someone and their first time owners.
This is a great way to go because I gotta say for for a new.
For someone who doesn't think about knives or consider them much, that is not a very scary or aggressive looking blade shape as opposed to something like this.
You know.
Which is sort of aggressive.
Not that you would get this as a first time knife for anyone but.

38:52
It's very unthreatening.
It looks like a utility knife, so QSP Penguin.
Awesome awesome knife.
Now spiritual cousin.
I would say just in the feel anyway.
Is the rat too.
Love the rat too.

39:06
I chose the rat two over the rat one because it's the smaller version.
Of course you can go up for the rat 131 bucks.
It's still for the rat one, which is what 3.75 or 3.6 inch blade?
I believe it's like 37 so you're not going that much further.
So the person has bigger hands or likes a bigger knife.
Go for that.
But I love the charm and the the action of my rat too.

39:33
My rat one has been in my car survival bag for so long.
I've kind of forgotten.
I have it and that thing has good action too.
But this is such and I love this.
This one in particular was a gift from my daughter before my second daughter was born.
This is a this is an old one and.
I affectionately call it Pinky tuscadero.

39:54
This was a back pocket knife for me for a long time.
Umm Pinky Tuscadero Fonzie's girlfriend always had a black skirt with a pink.
What was it?
A pink skirt with a black poodle on it?
I've never liked pink and then I I had daughters and I started to, you know, like pink, especially with a black blade.
So there you go.
The rat two amazing washer action on this.

40:18
And no it does not drop shut.
It feels like a sebenza.
It's glass on glass oiled glass on glass, smooth from just years of opening and shutting.
And then it's got just great flicking out action.
Alright, Next up one of those knives that my wife sort of just assimilated into her life and it's sort of a, you know, kind of disappeared from mine is the Kershaw Leek.
I love this thing and when I got it it it was a $40 knife at Walmart.
This is 14 C 28 N and that just gorgeous Warren Cliff.

40:56
I love this.
This is another knife I forget about it.
Forget about how awesome the leak is and you could use this.
Uh, the leak.
I think this is probably the most selling test.
That's not how you say it.
This is the most popular knife sold the most by Kershaw I believe.

41:14
Is this leak or the leak?
And it's got many different versions.
Many different takes.
This is just the standard, they they have the speed safe which on this knife I. I don't mind, of course I'd love bearings better, but speed safe will do.
And this is one of the few knives ever where I will opt for tip down even though I have the tip up option because so much of this hangs out of the pocket.
Look at look at so when you when you look at the blade here let me close this when you look at the pocket clip on this one.
Whoops, sorry.

41:50
You put the.
Put the blade in the pocket and you can see how high up high up it rides.
Well, you switch it around.
And it's already mounted here, so you've got this much hanging out of the pocket.
You have an inch full inch, so I think most people, unless they get an aftermarket clip for this, most people opt for the tip down on this knife.
But this is just a classic that that that 14C blade is very thin and it's hollow ground and it's just I'm shocked that I never broke the tip on this.
I used to carry this quite a bit and then it's got this secondary lock to keep it from opening because this would be a nasty one to have open in your pocket.

42:31
Right next to the air and then you just yeah close that up there and if you press on it.
Stops it from from coming out, so just a really, really cool and classic knife from Kershaw and would make an excellent first time knife and the fact that it's all metal.
It's aluminum and steel would make it seem also for that that crowd that likes the solid feel.
And yet it's way smaller and lighter than the buck 110. So great choice.
This one rides my wife's purse quite a bit.
Next up.
I'll show you two of them because they come in at the same price, but you know, depending on if this person is a large or small knife person, you think OK. So first is the Savi Elementum, probably one of the most highly recommended first knives out there.

43:24
The Elementum comes in a million different.
Colorways and materials.
You can get it in in in a brass handle.
This is a Ebony wood handle.
You can get it in all sorts of G 10s in my cartas.
Comes in different sizes now it's even it's it's got two exclusive button lock versions that don't have detents so you need the button to open and and to open and close it and.
It just comes in a million flavors.

43:54
This is this is sevis Burnley Boker Boker Burnley Quakin Super Thin hollow grind.
Just a great cutting knife.
This is my wife.
I got her this for Christmas I think last year she babies this one she doesn't carry it much.
She's a she's worked that's Ebony.
She's kind of worried about scratching up the Ebony wood but I keep telling her that's what it's for.
This one here is indeed 2D2 but you can get it in a bunch of different blades.

44:24
Blade steels the new titanium button lock one is flat ground.
Not sure why they did that when all of them are hollow ground.
Anyway, this knife.
This elementum starts at a base of 43. All the prices I'm putting up are are the base and you can go up from there because you can get.
You can get this with damasteel and and and you can really go expensive with the elementum but at at base 43 at base for the large civi let's take a look.
This one, this is a classic was one of their very first knives.
One of the first three that they released and and I absolutely love it.

45:02
This is an updated version without the goofy colored liners and it is the praxis big knife at 3.8 inches.
What is this 123.753 point?
8 inches wide blade also reminds me of a barong flat ground very thin behind the edge.
I mean it's thin blade stock to begin with.
Very broad blade, very high height grind.
This may as well be hollow grounded.
It's so thin behind the edge you could sharpen this way up and still have thin cutting geometry.

45:35
I slept on this one for years and years, and then saw a couple of videos.
Kind of talking about the classics of Evies and classic that's funny, but survives from from the very first generation of releases and the practice kept coming up and that's I got to get that knife and saw it in this beautiful wood and had to get it.
I believe it's rosewood like on the fret board of a guitar, but they use another word, another wood called.
That begins with a C that I can never remember.
I always go towards the ham.
I always call it kurobuta like the ham, but it's not.
So these two knives can be had for 43 bucks at base.

46:17
They're from sevi.
Outstanding builds, very good heat treats on their steels, and this is a 9 CR 18 MOV.
Awesome, awesome action just.
Addictive action if you like to fidget.
These are great having my wife Elementum in hand.
A really you know I think I need to get the OR I think I would like to get the button lock version of this with without the detent that is a little annoying but.
It's a button lock, so it exclusively how open and close it, but it's larger.

46:51
It's got a 3.4 inch blade rather than this 3 inch blade, so I think I might get that at some point.
Don't be surprised if you see it here on the channel.
All right, so that's 43 bucks and these are survives a bit of luxury.
You know that you're getting for that first time knife owner in a luxurious field for not that much money.
43 bucks Next up, sort of in the same line, because these were both.
The same thing I'm going to do a large and a small option both at 40 bucks and very robust knives and not without great design.
OK, so let's look at this one.

47:28
This is the kubi vagrant.
Just a premium feeling action here are incredible.
Detent and really great bearing action on this knife but like look at this.
It is a 3, three and a quarter inch.
It's perfect blade shape and then if you don't like that you can get the worn Cliff which is just, or the sheep's foot which just doesn't have this Swale here, but has a very similar.
Cutting edge OK, so the kubi vagrant comes in two different blade shapes.
As I mentioned, this is the Warren Cliff comes in the sheep's foot, and it comes in about a million different handle material, not materials, but colors of G10 and I shouldn't say a million.

48:14
It's it of course is limited, but there's a wide variety of these kubis to be had for your taste.
This is Austin, a blade steel, and I don't know much about kubis heat treating, but I do know that this knife works very well.
So I'm assuming that their heat treat is pretty good because this does not require this does not dull out easily or quickly, and this this has been only really used for cardboard and sandwiches.
So yeah, Kobe Vagrant now next this.
This was the knife I carried.
The only knife I brought with me to Atlanta for Blade show because I had to fly and I was worried about TSA stealing my knives.
So I brought the koobi flash.

48:55
Now this is a large cooby that's that's a 3.8 inch blade.
Again, very very nice worn, Cliffy bellied, worn Cliff.
Some people call it a reverse tanto, but they're wrong.
You gotta you gotta large sharpening trail here that you can you can double as a finger toil if need be but just the same sort of quality.
This is D2 same really excellent action, cool design, adequate materials and by adequate I mean no one thinks G10 is luxurious.
No one thinks D2 is luxurious but it's what you do with those materials really.
Excellent ergonomics.

49:32
Lately I've been very into neutral.
Very neutral ergonomics but.
These are this is very comfortable at positions the blade in a great way.
This is a really good knife, has a very good coating on the blade.
I've used this for cardboard not much, but it has not really followed up the coding much that I can see and 40 bucks.
Great knife, great knife.
Probably for the first timer.

50:02
You're gonna go for the small one, but if the person is big or has big tasks at hand, this would make an excellent one.
Both of these have the point down towards the knuckles more placing the point in line for this kind of utility.
Cut that a lot of people find themselves doing.
I think for a first time user that might be an important thing.
That might be a useful thing because a lot of us do this sort of pole cutting.
Alright, so that's koobi that was cool, wasn't it?
I know that's koobi and love those.

50:34
They are a little bit.
They feel a little bit more robust than the knives before them the survives and those survives.
Feel a little bit more robust than the knife before them the Kershaw Leek, but this knife feels a little bit more robust than the kubis and I can't have a list like this without talking about cold steel.
So right here I have the cold steel Voyager again.
This is this is.
One for.
For someone who who has hard use in mind, they have a landscaping company and they're constantly opening, opening up bags of mulch and they're out there in the in the muck.

51:11
And the mud and and they're cutting things all day long.
This right here would be of a great option because now they're made in lose 10. This is an older one in AUS 8A.
But it's got the triad lock.
It is a super performer.
The triad lock is arguably the strongest lock out there.
Who knows things might be changing, but very, very very, very strong backlog due to the fact that it takes all of the all of the pressure on the back of the blade and puts it into that big thick stop pin, and then that transfers into the frame of the handle and not the joint, not the connection
between the blade and the lock bar.

51:54
So awesome awesome knives that these can be had for 60 bucks.
These can be had in different blade shapes too.
There's the.
The Tonto and you can get the drop point they used to have this in the vaquero, which by the way I'm getting mine.
Back from my buddy Ian.
I gave it to him years ago and came crawling back on bended knee.
Could I please have it back?

52:14
So I'm going to buy it back from him because they don't make those anymore but very very capable Robin knife at 60 bucks and this is the four inch they have the five and a half inch versions.
The XL's also sub 100 except for the drop point.
Not sure why and.
Then they used to do the smaller versions at the three inch blade, but now you have to.
I believe now you have to go on eBay to find those.
They don't make those anymore, but the Voyager.
Awesome awesome knife for a first time user cause it's not gonna break the bank but it's gonna give them years and years and years of use and might inspire them to get you know more knives.

52:54
That's that's what all of these are also aimed at doing.
They're they're inexpensive enough that they're not going to break the bank.
If you're getting it as a gift to someone you love or like, but at the same time it will give them years of use.
If it's the only knife they ever end up getting.
Or it might inspire them to become a junkie themselves.
OK last up I wanna talk about off grid knives.
They have so many or 100 bucks that are unbelievably robust and addictive.

53:21
This is they're all best tech made.
We know how great best tech is.
They're all with caged bearings.
They all have amazing blade geometry.
They're my favorite cardboard cutting knives and I feel like this the enforcer at 60 bucks and then you can go up with different versions but.
I feel like the enforcer of all of them is just.
Would be the most universally appealing.

53:46
There's the Cayman with that really extreme Bowie blade that I love, but it might be a polarizing design for some people, and there are there's the cleaver which is the best cardboard knife ever, but it's weird.
It looks like a cleaver, not not maybe a first time knife buyers look for a knife, but this one has a non the non threatening look of a utility knife though.
Those of us in the know might look at this and find it very threatening, but something about having the tip down low makes it seem more like a utility knife, and that's something people are more used to and.
It's also extremely useful to have the point there with that kind of cutting that I'm, I'm saying most of us do a lot of that pole cutting.
This one is out of D2.
You can get.
I'm not sure if it's still around, but they had a 154 CM version with with really cool red streaked G10.

54:44
So I think this is an awesome awesome option.
Now this is the.
This is another one that my wife appropriated from my collection, but I also think this would make a great first time knife owners knife gift.
And that's also the off grid knives knife.
It is also an off grid knives knife and it is the mini.
Rhino baby rhino.
So the the big rhino is one of my favorites.

55:13
It's 3.75 inch blade.
It's a big work knife.
This is a small version of it and and it is a a successful shrinking down by a percentage.
What?
What do I mean by that?
Sometimes when you make a knife smaller, like take the endura when you make the endura into the Delica, you don't just shrink it down in the shrink elator machine, you gotta you gotta re reconfigure the choices and make it make it make sense in a smaller format for the same size hand well for this
knife it's just so happened to work that they could just shrink this down because it looks.

55:48
Exactly like a small version of the big one.
Like none of these proportions have changed, including the thickness.
This is exactly as thick as it's much, much bigger brother, and that's what makes this a successful micro knife.
This is a three handed knife or three handed.
Got your three hands ready?
This is a 3 fingered knife.
My pinky is hanging off the end but that full thickness at that .6 inches thick.

56:18
Makes this a very sure in hand knife.
This is the recipe if you're gonna make a micro knife and you want it to be able to be used hard, you make it full thickness.
This is a stroke of genius.
I love this knife and plus it's got addictive.
The addictive action of those cage bearings that best tech build and one of the best flipper tabs of all times.
I love this rounded off fully gemmed.
Flipper tab if you're only listening to this, imagine a flipper tab that comes up from the spine of the handle with parallel lines and then it has a semicircle on top and the whole thing is gimped anywhere you grab it.

56:56
It's going to actuate perfectly.
All right, so those are.
Those are the knives the best gift knives.
Just as an addendum, here would be too great and inexpensive.
Slip joint style knives.
Non non locking knives you might want to get like the case any other CV knives though.
That's the Chrome vanadium, they do a great job with those.

57:19
This kudu is a non locking knife, 15 bucks, very capable even though 5 CR steel and then.
Fixed blade knives.
The Sr. Survival rescue.
The SRK from cold Steel makes an excellent one.
Fixed blade for a first timer because it can be used.
Survival self-defense.
All sorts of things.

57:42
Same thing goes for the off grid.
Grizzly can be used as a woods knife.
Can be used as a kitchen knife.
Great camp knife.
Just a great one.
Knife a gift for a first time user.
Oh you're going camping I got a great knife for you boom they have it they have it the rest of their lives or.

58:01
It starts something and they become knife junkies.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining me on this journey.
This journey through new knife item I I used the word noob a number of times I I don't approve of that I'm gonna I'm gonna cut that from my vocabulary.
I just want you all to know that since I made it public it's got to be.
10 best folders let me know what you think.
Are the 10 best folders that you could give to someone or you don't have to give me 10 but but list tell me what you think is a good first knife.
I I would have to say probably of all of them that QSP Penguin is what we're going to hear.

58:34
Most of OK join us on Sunday for episode 340 of the Knife Junkie podcast when I talk with my good friend Dave Everett.
This old sword blade reviews.
We go through his the new knives in his collection.
We talk philosophy, we get deep.
He's a brilliant guy and a a wonderful practitioner.
Of the Filipino martial arts, as well as as well as like curator of a Museum of knives in his own basement.
Alright, thanks for joining me on the Knife Junkie podcast.

59:00
Thanks to Jim for working his magic and be sure to check us out on Patreon where you get a lot more all right again for Jim working his magic.
I'm Bob saying until next time don't take doll for an answer.
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59:33
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